Santa Cruz County’s rugged coastline, majestic redwoods, and expansive mountaintop vistas make it a premier destination for your next hiking adventure! Join us as we go through our picks for the Top Hikes in Santa Cruz County!

September has just begun, but it's already made quite an impression! Sure, those 100+ degree record temps are pretty notable (so glad that's over), but so are these amazing sunrises and sunsets! Take a peek at a few of our favorite dreamy skies from September's kick-off!

The secret's out! The fall season boasts some of the best weather of the year in Santa Cruz County, plus it's stacked with amazing events, fewer crowds, and sweet hotel deals! Visit Santa Cruz is celebrating fall by giving away mini vacations and tons of tickets to some of the season's best events. Follow us on Facebook to enter the Fall Festival Fridays' weekly mini-Santa Cruz vacation contests with hotel stays and more, and our Instagram for event ticket giveaways throughout the season!

The latest buzz in Santa Cruz is Abbott Square, a dynamic plaza and marketplace that’s enlivened already buzzing downtown with six new restaurants, two bars, plenty of al fresco courtyard seating, and a lineup of free performances and public art. The $5 million endeavor is five years in the making, and a joint project of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) and developer John McEnery IV who created a similar community marketplace in San Jose.

Santa Cruz County has year round wildlife watching - whales, sea lions, dolphins, tidepools, hundreds of species of birds - there's really not a bad time of year for seeing some creatures! But here's a quick roundup of photos - all taken within the last week - that will give you a realtime look at the Santa Cruz summer wildlife scene.

Visit Santa Cruz County is a private, non-profit corporation, serving as the official visitor marketing entity for Santa Cruz County. Visit Santa Cruz County works to enhance tourism, the visitor experience, and the area economy by positioning and promoting Santa Cruz County as a year-around visitor, conference and film destination.